                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CONTRACTS BETWEEN CHARITABLE OR CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL
FUND-RAISING COUNSEL OR PROFESSIONAL SOLICITORS (§ 57-54)

A. Every contract or agreement between professional fund-raising counsel and a
charitable or civic organization shall be in writing and shall be filed with the
Commissioner within 10 days after such contract or written agreement is entered
into.

B. Every contract, or a written statement of the nature of the arrangement to
prevail in the absence of a contract, between a professional solicitor and a
charitable or civic organization shall be filed with the Commissioner at least
10 days prior to commencement of the contract.

C. All agreements and arrangements between professional fund-raising counsel and
charitable or civic organizations shall be reduced to writing before executed or
acted upon.

D. Any contract between a professional solicitor and a charitable or civic
organization shall specify the percentage of gross contributions that the
charitable or civic organization will receive or the terms upon which a
determination can be made as to the amount of the gross revenue from the
solicitation campaign that the charitable or civic organization will receive. If
a reasonable estimate is used to make such determination, the contract shall
clearly disclose the assumptions or the formula upon which the estimate is
based; however, if a fixed percentage is used, such percentage shall exclude any
amount that the charitable or civic organization is to pay as an expense of the
solicitation campaign, including the cost of any merchandise or services sold.
The professional solicitor shall, at the conclusion of a charitable appeal,
provide to the charitable or civic organization a final accounting of all
expenditures. Such final accounting may not be used in violation of any state or
federal trade secret laws. The contract shall disclose the average percentage of
gross contributions collected on behalf of charitable or civic organizations
that such organizations received from the professional solicitor for the three
years preceding the year in which the contract was formed. The contract shall
also specify that at least every 90 days the professional solicitor shall
provide the charitable or civic organization with access to and use of all
information in the professional solicitor&#8217;s possession concerning
contributors, including the name, mailing address, email address, and telephone
number of each contributor and the date and amount of each contribution. A
professional solicitor shall not restrict a charitable or civic
organization&#8217;s use of any such contributor information.

HISTORY: 1974, c. 574; 1979, c. 595; 1983, c. 374; 1988, c. 322; 2023, c. 289.